Finally got around to reading this after everyone and their mother were tweeting about it. To spare everybody from a page-long post about why it's great, I'll be somewhat brief.

Van Natta Jr. took a gamble and showed up in Atlanta with the hopes of talking Jones into a profile. It's very similar to what Gay Talese did to get to profile Joe DiMaggio, but Van Natta got a figure that was more open to the idea. Also, there's a strong parallel between DVNJr.'s hotel encounter and the way Jones approached the AFL's owners.

The piece works because of the details, the pages and pages of reporting, the anecdotes and the multiple layers of conflict, among many other things. I'm one of many Cowboys fans that can't stand Jerry and yet I somehow liked Jerry at the end of this piece.

I don't see this chapter ending for the Cowboys in any other way but an Al Davis scenario.
With essentially a lost decade of football, which the Cowboys are working on, mad emperor at the helm.
And then Stephen will get the team, and he's supposed to be more volatile than his father.

The access, and the lengths he went to get it certainly help the piece. DVN did an excellent job explaining how he got the access without ever making the story about himself. It's not until the fourth section that he explains how he got the access.

The other thing that stood out to me is that while it's clear Jones go above and beyond in granting DVN access, it doesn't appear he let that color the piece at all. It's not at all a love fest and it comes off pretty harsh on Jones at times.